SYOSSET, NY (CBSNewYork) -A Nassau County man is lucky to be alive after his home blew up, with the force of the explosion literally rocking the neighborhood.

The 48-year-old homeowner, husband and father of three barely escaped death when his ranch house on Alexander Drive in Syosset suddenly exploded while he was doing spring cleaning in the basement, reports CBS 2’s Jennifer McLogan.

“We don’t know how he arrived onto the front lawn, but he was sitting on the front lawn when we got here,” Syosset Fire Chief Robert Kaplan said. “He was immediately transported via helicopter to the medical center.”

A neighbor told 1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera that he talked with Welsh before he was rushed to the burn unit at Nassau County Medical Center.

“He said that he would have been working in the basement around his dryer and his washing machine,” he said.